Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

The critical and popular success (New York Times bestseller) that won a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship and launched Canin's career, Emperor of the Air explores tricky family relationships and tender moments of self-discovery with a voice of compassion rarely found in contemporary short fiction" (San Francisco Chronicle). As People magazine commented, "Like a spider's web, this collection of spare, precise short stories is cleverly alluring and deceptively strong."

Review

"Canin continually surprises readers as he casts the mundane in new light." Publishers Weekly

Review

"The way these stories transcend the ordinariness of human voices is startling." New York Times

Review

"This is one of the strongest first story collections in years, from a generous writer with heart and style and the power to surprise." Kirkus Reviews

Synopsis

EMPEROR OF THE AIR "explores tricky family relationships and tender moments of self-discovery with a voice of compassion rarely found in contemporary short fiction" (San Francisco Chronicle). Whether his characters are struggling to save trees in their yards, their marriages, or themselves, Cannin renders their moments of revelation with rich observation, energy, humor, and grace.

About the Author

Ethan Canin lives in Iowa City and San Francisco.

Ethan Canin on PowellsBooks.Blog

What I hear about pro basketball scouts is that they always draft raw athleticism over any single athletic achievement. So that's what I'm going to do: I'm going to pick the best athletes out of the couple of dozen 20th-century writers who, at one time or another, have been my beacons...

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating 5 (1 comments)

Truly amazing! I've re-read this collection a number of times and each time I come away with a profound sense of the interdependencies between all of us. The author has an amazing way of authentically voicing a variety of characters. The stories illustrate snapshots of a diverse number of human experiences: loss of a spouse, the hardships of growing up, the joy of raising a child, and a sense of general awe with simply being alive.